Dance Lessons
by An Angel's Wings
Summary: The memory came to her in bits and pieces, but she remembered that she too was glad they came. [Nostalgic.Childhood Fic] [Slight WinEd hints!]


_This story was inspired by the song "He Mele No Lilo" From the Disney movie, Lilo and Stitch. (Yes, I said Disney)_

_I really don't know why, given this is a fanfic about Fullmetal, and the song is cute and happy. The two don't seem to mix well. But, in this case they do._

_It's an adorable little fic, (Strongly hinting to a Win/Ed), that I cooked up in the noggin that avoids the tear-jerking drama FMA is so full of for a nostalgic taste of childhood for Ed, Al, and Winry._

_Enjoy!_

_**Disclaimer:** I own nada._

_**Rating:** K (All Ages, it's safe for the kiddies.)

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**_Dance Lessons _**

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**_By An Angel's Wings_**

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She watched the water rush by the shore quietly. Her eyes focused on the road, she hurried past the turn of the river as it emptied into a large lake. 

She quickened her pace up the dirt road, the bag on her shoulders hanging off as her feet pounded the ground. She could see the light from the house up ahead as night closed in behind her.

She attempted to blow a piece of stray blonde hair from her face, but it clung to her from the wind. She made a disappointed face.

* * *

The room was majestically decorated, flowers hung to the ribbons draped across the rafters. On the hard wood floor, girls young and old giggled nervously at the gathering crowd. 

A boy in the audience shifted uncomfortably.

"Winry's late." He crossed his arms as he sunk into the chair.

"I'm sure she'll be here before it starts." The boy beside him turned to look at his brother with a confident smile.

The woman next the boy who first spoke, his mother, added in. "She wouldn't miss this, not when she knows you'll both be watching. You worry too much, Ed."

Ed shifted his gaze upward, still slouched in his seat, to look at the decorations positioned so elegantly above him.

"Alright ladies! Take your places!" He heard a girl in the crowd on the center of the floor whisper. She waved the others to where they were supposed to stand.

"She's still not here, Al." Edward slipped the words through the corner of his mouth, as the audience grew silent.

Al looked around nervously, shaking his head in response. Ed sighed as his mother tapped him on the shoulder in a signal t for him to sit up straight.

* * *

Winry rushed to the back door of the building. _Oh please, oh please._ She begged that it hadn't begun, but the music inside said differently. She opened the door slowly, peeking an eye out. 

The first number had begun.

"Winry!" A stocky man lumbered over to her, his face impatient and upset. She slinked into the crack the door made and leaned against it too shut it. She looked down in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry." She mumbled. The man sighed, rubbing his temple as he beckoned her to the back of the curtain.

She followed timidly.

The man pushed aside a section of curtain, to the extreme left of the dance floor where no one was paying much attention.

Pushing her into the light, Winry squeaked lightly in surprise, instantly regretting the action. Realizing where she was, she looked for a break in the music's beat where she could squeeze in unnoticed.

A brown-haired girl, much older then she, began a solo, and Winry dragged confidence into her expression as she moved toward the others on stage.

By the time the girl had finished, Winry had found her place in sync with the others almost instantly.

She inched a foot forward, bringing the other to her opposite thigh. Putting both hands above her head, she twirled with the others in a flurry of motion.

From the audience, Ed and Al watched with eager smiles.

Winry blushed; now weary of her friends watching. She continued to dance; suddenly proud of the fact she had _boys_ watching her perform. She smiled to herself as she thought of how the other girls her age would be jealous. Still, the thought of Ed and Al being present made her uneasy.

Within minutes, the song ended in an eruption of applause as she and the others gathered into a bow.

* * *

"That was a beautiful dance, Winry." Trisha, Ed and Al's mother, commented to the girl, whom blushed and hid behind her own mother as the room filed out after the event. 

"She's just embarrassed. It was the first dance rehearsal the boys could make." Winry's mother, Sarah, announced quietly

"I'm not embarrassed, Mom!" Winry said through tight lips, folding her arms as her mother moved aside to let her speak.

Ed laughed. "It's all right, Win, you did great!" He beamed at her, Al beside him carrying the same expression.

Winry nervously scraped her foot across the wooden floor.

On the way out, with Trisha and Sarah making conversation ahead of them, the trio of friends trailed behind.

"You really did do good!" Al chirped in, he was eager to make her pleased with her own performance.

"But I was late…" She watched her feet scruff the road rather then look at the brothers.

"Late doesn't count for anything." Ed added, folding his hands behind his head and letting out a yawn. "You still made it, right? Then what does it matter? We still saw you."

"Great job, Winry!" A young girl hurried by them, her red hair looking bright against the barely lit roadway.

"You too, Janelle!" Winry yelled back as the girl closed in on her family, whom all cheered loudly in congratulations.

The houses where within walking distance of the studio, and Winry had to soon depart from the brothers.

Before following her mother down the road to their house, Winry pulled Ed and Al into a group hug.

"Thanks for being there. Even if I was late…Thanks for waiting."

Ed blushed at the sudden gesture of affection, even if between friends. Al stood a bit confused.

Winry backed away a few steps and smiled at them both.

* * *

_(8 years later)_

"Hey…"

Winry turned to Ed, who sat leaning an elbow against the wooden dining table as he stared out of the window.

"What?" She asked.

"Remember those dance lessons you used to take? Back some years ago? At the little studio on the hill…?"

Winry put her cup of hot chocolate down on the counter, as she leaned on the marble top.

"Of course. It was only for a few years, 2 maybe. My last rehearsal…I remember that." She giggled. "I was late because I was down by the river, getting myself mentally ready."

Ed turned to her with an interested expression. She put a finger to her chin, in thought.

"That was the only time you guys saw me. I was so embarrassed!"

Ed laughed. "Not from what you said."

Winry waved it off. "I was only trying to cover it up. I was more then happy to have you guys there…" She took a sip of her drink.

"Right."

The two stood in awkward silence, Ed returning his gaze to the window.

"I'm glad I went." He said suddenly, and Winry cocked her head to the side curiously.

"What makes you say that now?"

"Well…" He turned to her with his usual toothy grin. "It was one time we actually had to wait for you, instead of you waiting for us."

Winry, surprised by the comment, smiled.

"So, I guess we're even then?" He offered.

She faked confusion for a second, turning it to a sly grin. "Yeah right!" She chucked the dishtowel beside her at him playfully. He didn't bother to block it as it struck his face.

He pulled it off in disgust, and they turned to share a laugh together.

The memory came to her in bits and pieces, but she remembered that she too was glad they came.

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_End!_

_Yeah, pretty darn long, IMO and not all making sense. Hey, we never know if Winry took dance, it was a thought that occurred to me as a possibility._

_Review! --they make me happy--_

_**--An Angel's Wings**_


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